Subway riders battle heat in stifling subway stations

With the high heat and humidity taking hold in the borough, residents who take the subway say it is even worse in the stations.

Residents drank lots of cold water and fanned themselves while waiting for their trains to arrive as the stifling air made them sweat profusely. Many hoped the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) would do something to cool off the platforms.

MTA officials say that the new 2nd Avenue line will have air conditioning in the stations when it is completed in 2016, but that line will operate only in Manhattan.

Officials admit there is little they can do to retrofit many of the existing subway stations to make them cooler, but add that subway cars are air-conditioned.